Intra-company Transfer Visa
If your overseas employer has offered you a role in a UK branch of the organization, you are from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland and you meet the other eligibility requirements – you can apply for an Intra-company Transfer visa (Tier 2).
It is important to be employed by a licensed sponsor to apply to live in the UK. The sponsor qualifies you for a visa and assigns you a certificate of sponsorship to prove this. The information on how much money you will be paid or other job-related details may be needed.
There are two types of Intra-company Transfer visas available: Long-term Staff and Graduate Trainee Intra-company Transfer visas. Long-term Staff is designed for applicants who are transferring into a role that requires them to have had previous experience working for this company. To apply for the visa, they need to have worked for the company for more than 12 months or to be paid £73,900 or more per year to work in the UK. Graduate Trainee visa is for transfers into graduate trainee programs who are recent graduates with at least 3 months’ experience with the employer overseas.
You are allowed to apply for an Intra-company Transfer visa up to three months before the day you are due to start work in the UK, this date will be mentioned in your certificate of sponsorship. Typically, you will get your visa decision within three weeks if you apply from outside the UK. Many visa application centers offer faster visa decisions and other priority services for an extra fee.
The cost of the Intra-company Transfer visa (Tier 2) depends on its type and where you come from. Applicants from Turkey and Macedonia will have to pay slightly less money, then others. The Graduate Trainee visa fee is £482, Long-term Staff visa (up to three years stay) fee is £610 and Long-term Staff visa (more than three years stay) fee is £1,220. All the dependants of the applicant must pay the same amount of money for their Intra-company Transfer visa applications. Healthcare surcharge payment is a part of the application and can be calculated in advance. Those who plan to apply to extend or switch their visa in the UK, need to pay approximately £19 to have their fingerprints and a photo taken for biometric information.
You are allowed to stay in the UK with an Intra-company Transfer visa (Tier 2) for up to the maximum duration mentioned in your visa type. Another option is the time mentioned on your certificate of sponsorship, whichever is shorter is taken into account. The maximum stay for each type of the Intra-company Transfer visa (Tier 2) varies. It is 9 years for a Long-term Staff visa holder, earning more than £120,000 per year; 5 years, 1 month for a Long-term Staff visa holder, earning less than £120,000 per year, and 12 months for a Graduate Trainee visa holder. It is permitted to come to the UK up to 14 days before the start date on the certificate of sponsorship. You are also allowed to apply and extend your stay in the UK for the maximum time allowed for your visa type.
An Intra-company Transfer visa allows you: to work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship; to take a second job, but it must be in the same profession and at the same level as your main job (not more than 20 working hours per week); you can do voluntary work and study (only if it does not interfere with the sponsored job). You are also permitted to travel abroad and return to the UK and bring your family members with you. An Intra-company Transfer visa does not allow you to receive public funds or start working before you get a visa.
To apply for an Intra-company Transfer visa you must have a valid certificate of sponsorship for your job; receive an appropriate salary; have enough money to support yourself when you arrive in the UK and be able to show you have worked for your employer outside the UK. Your travel history over the last 5 years and the results of the tuberculosis test (for some countries) are also needed.
A certificate of sponsorship is an electronic record of your personal details and your future job in the UK information. You will be given its reference number by your sponsor and you will add it to your visa application. Your certificate of a sponsorship reference number can only be used once and not later than 3 months after getting it.
One of the important Intra-company Transfer visa requirements is your appropriate salary – you need to be paid at least the minimum salary for your type of visa or the appropriate rate for the job you were offered. The minimum salary for Long-term Staff visa holders is £41,500 and for Graduate Trainee is £23,000. The salary requirements might be different if: you are extending your Intra-company Transfer visa; you are working in the UK for less than a year; you will be paid at an hourly rate or work a set number of hours.
To apply for an Intra-company Transfer visa you must have at least £945 in your bank account (for 90 days before your application) or have a fully approved sponsor who can cover your costs for a month if needed.
When applying for an Intra-company Transfer visa you need to provide your certificate of a sponsorship reference number; a valid passport or travel document with a blank page for your visa; expired passports or travel documents to show your travel history; your tuberculosis test results (if needed) and prove you or you sponsor can support you financially (if needed).
You might also be asked to prove you have worked for your employer for some time, the length depends on what visa you are applying for: Long-term Staff earning £73,900 or less – one year; Long-term Staff earning more than £73,900 – no minimum time; Graduate Trainee – three months. You can demonstrate printed payslips, online payslips supported by a letter from your sponsor, bank or building society statements, or a building society passbook.
For an Intra-company Transfer visa (Tier 2) you must apply online, as part of your application you must visit your visa application center and have your biometric information taken. Your biometric residence permit must be collected within 10 days of when you said you would arrive in the UK.
You can apply to extend your Intra-company Transfer visa if you have the same job; if your job is similar to the one you received your previous visa for; you still work for the employer who provided your certificate of sponsorship; you still earn an appropriate salary and you are already in the UK. Also, you can apply to change from a Representative of an Overseas Business visa to an Intra-company Transfer Long-term Staff visa (Tier 2) only.
Family members (husband, wife, or partner, children under 18 and children over 18 if they are currently in the UK as dependants) can come with you when you come to the UK on the Inter-company Transfer visa. They must have their own visas if they are from outside the European Economic Area or Switzerland.
Regards,
SmartImmigrant
